


Four Days Later

by StevetheIcecube



Series: LeoNiles Week [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, LeoNiles Week 2018, Pre-Canon, Rated T for Niles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 13:43:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15775272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StevetheIcecube/pseuds/StevetheIcecube
Summary: Leo didn't speak to Niles on the first night. In fact, they didn't speak for several days afterwards.





	Four Days Later

**Author's Note:**

> For the first prompt for LeoNiles Week on Tumblr, meeting. You can find the week at leonilesweek on Tumblr, it'd be great to see others taking part!

Meetings 

Leo had been on the other side of the room to the boy when he'd been dragged in. They hadn't spoken to each other; not even a word was exchanged. Niles had been there, the accused, and Leo was merely an observer. Probably not even meant to be there, honestly, but there was no time to hurry him out (and no point. He was meant to be 'protected', but he'd already seen a lot worse than the execution of a thief).

When watching, Leo hadn't spoken to Niles. He'd spoken to his father instead, asking that the boy be spared. Garon barely hesitated before agreeing, and asked a nameless, faceless servant to take him away. Leo went back to his room, not knowing when he'd see the thief again. That's just how things were.

It was four days before they met again. By talking to some of the servants, Leo learned that the reason it was taking too long was because the boy had been injured when in a struggle with the soldiers, and the wound had become infected. The time until he would be ready to serve him as a retainer would be weeks, if not months.

The only thing Leo could think of to do was ask if he could visit the boy. He only...he only hoped that he wasn't suffering too much, because he knew that if the injury took that long to heal even with magic, it was serious, and sort of Leo's fault that it was still ongoing. There were some things that just weren't worth living through.

The medics were very hesitant to let him in. He knew that it was the same thing as always; he wasn't meant to see people hurt or sick or suffering because he was meant to be above normal concerns for others. He wasn't exactly a caring person by nature, but he wasn't heartless. He knew that sometimes people got ill. The attempts to protect him were reaching an annoying level now.

The boy, who was older than Leo had expected now he saw him not spread out on the floor at death's door, was sitting up in bed, his eyes trained firmly on a sheet of parchment. From just a few moments of observing him, Leo could tell he wasn't actually reading it. Given his background, he probably couldn't.

As he approached, the boy looked up. That was when Leo realised the extent of his injuries; there was a large bandaged patch on the right side of his face. Given the way it was done, though Leo was no medical expert, it looked like the boy (could Leo describe him as a boy if he looked to be older than him?) had lost the use of that eye. "You're the kid from the throne room," he said, his left eye fixed on Leo in a way that made him distinctly uncomfortable.

"I am," Leo said. The boy's mouth quirked into a grin. "My name is Leo. I'm third in line to the Obsidian Throne, and I asked a few days ago that you not be executed."

"Am I supposed to thank you?" The boy asked. "I'm not going to. You did that for your own ends, not for mine."

"They can be for your ends too," he said. "If you're willing to work with me, I'm sure things will work out just fine for you. What's your name?"

"I have no obligation to tell you," the boy said.

"You don't," he replied. But Leo really hoped he would. It would be a real shame if the boy he saved didn't want to take him up on his offer. He understood, of course, that he'd put the thief in a position he probably didn't want to be in. But that didn't mean he had to make it difficult for himself."

"It's Niles," he said. "I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I'd be lying." Leo nodded. "Seems for the first time that there's no pleasure in being confined to a bed."

The way Niles spoke there made Leo splutter before he regained his composure. Of course a thief he'd practically brought in off the streets would have a colourful personality. Of course he would. "I hope the healers have been treating you well," he said. "I'm sorry to hear about your eye."

Niles let out a harsh laugh. "That thing's been dead for months," he said. "But apparently it needed treatment anyway. The annoying injury is my elbow bones in my bow arm were shattered when I fell. Hurts like a bitch."

Leo nodded. He didn't feel like he'd made a very good first impression on Niles, but...it was something. It was also quite the revelation that he'd managed to pick up a half blind retainer. "Well, I'm glad to hear you're doing okay." He didn't mention how Niles seemed a lot more cheerful now than he had when he clearly just wanted to get dying over with.

Niles let out a derisive snort, but he didn't sound hostile like he had when Leo had introduced himself. "At least the next few weeks are going to be interesting," he said.

"Oh, it's always interesting here," he said. "That's why I need a retainer I can trust."

"You think you can trust me?" Niles asked.

"No," Leo said. "I don't think I can yet." Telling Niles that was a bit of a gamble, because in the past Leo preferred to play up being naive, but if Niles decided to hide something from him in the future, Leo got the sense that he'd do a good job regardless of if he thought Leo was incompetent or not. "But I can trust you a lot more than a person my father picked for me."

"Aww, that's sweet of you," Niles said, his biting sarcasm very clear in his tone. "I do so love a man with daddy issues." Leo flushed again, slightly indignant, but all Niles did was laugh. "Oh yes, I think this arrangement can work to my ends just as much as it will to yours."


End file.
